Quarter of Brits Report Deepfake Phone Scams

Hiya’s Q4 2024 Global Call Threat Report details a surge to 11.3 billion spam calls (22% nuisance, 9% fraud) and over one billion fraudulent calls, with rising AI deepfake voice scams: 25% of UK and 31% of US consumers reported exposure; among those exposed, 40% (UK) and 45% (US) fell victim, ~35% lost money, and 32% reported personal data theft. Average losses were $539 (US), £595/$751 (UK), CA$1479/$1037 (CA), and €1089/$1141 (FR). Spam volumes varied widely—~3/month in Germany vs. ~28 in Brazil/Chile—with the UK low at ~4; top scams included HMRC (UK) and Medicare (US). Deepfake call themes focused on banking/financial (11%), followed by insurance, holiday bookings, and delivery services (8% each), aligning with research that humans misidentify deepfake speech 27% of the time.